The State Duma of the Russian Federation. (RIA Novosti/Vladimir Fedorenko) / RIA Novosti

Two opposition lawmakers want an official list of “undesirable foreign organizations” and criminal responsibility for Russians who assist the activities of these entities inside the country.

Aleksandr Tarnavskiy of the leftist Fair Russia party and Anton
Ishchenko of the nationalist LDPR party have prepared a set of
legislative amendments introducing the definition of an
“undesirable foreign organization.”

The sponsors of the motion write in the explanatory note that
they deem it important to prevent any potential for foreign
groups to harm the “basic values of the Russian state.”
The MPs see threat in organizations involved in so-called color
revolutions and those that can sow ethnic and religious strife
among in Russia.

They want to give the Prosecutor General the power to recognize
foreign or international organizations as undesirable. The
decision must be based on information presented by the Interior
Ministry and coordinated with the Foreign Ministry, the bill
suggests.

After the group is recognized as “undesirable”, the authorities
would freeze its accounts in Russian banks and impound any
property on Russian territory. The organization would also be
banned from opening offices, branches or affiliate companies in
Russia, and barred from collecting donations or distributing
propaganda. The bill also stipulates that individual foreign
members of the banned groups would be officially banned from
entering the country.

The MPs also suggest introducing new articles to the
Administrative and Criminal codes, punishing Russian citizens who
assist the activities of undesirable foreign organizations with
fines of between 10,000 and 100,000 rubles ($220 -
$2200).Repeated offenses could carry criminal responsibility with
a maximum of 8 years in prison. However, anyone who voluntarily
quits working for an undesirable foreign organization must not be
criminally prosecuted, the draft reads.

“This is a prevention measure, many organizations have a
reputation they value and even the threat of getting into this
list would force them to change the methods of their work or
leave Russia. We don’t see our objective as punishing someone, it
is important for us that the motion prevents hostile activities
harming our country,” MP Tarnavskiy said in an interview
with Izvestia daily.

According to Izvestia the government and the Supreme Court have
already approved the bill with minor corrections.

The motion can be seen as a radical expansion of the “Foreign
Agents Law” introduced in late 2012. According to this act, all
NGOs who receive funding from abroad, and that are even partially
engaged in political activities, must register as foreign agents
or risk substantial fines.

The act caused a lot of complaints from activists and human
rights officials who accused it of labeling the groups and warned
of a possible sharp cut in foreign funding. Russian officials,
including President Putin, have repeatedly emphasized that the
law contained no sanctions against foreign-funded organizations
and only sought to inform the Russian public better, and
especially voters, of the possible motives of various
participants in the political process.

Earlier this month, the State Duma passed a bill that makes it
illegal for Russian political parties to receive sponsorship, or
enter any business deals with NGOs with “foreign agent” status.